Lullabies
by sevheartslily
Summary: A song fic about Lily and Severus based on the song Lullabies by All Time Low.


Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter or the song Lullabies, they belong to JK Rowling and All Time Low!

* * *

"But Lily, I never meant it! You know I didn't mean it!" Severus' tone was urgent and pleading, as he took long strides to keep up with her. "It just—"

"Slipped out?" She finished for him, stopping abruptly and causing him to walk straight into her. Her voice was full of nothing but contempt and mock-sympathy, her bright green eyes alight with concealed emotion. "And it just 'slips out' every single time someone of my 'blood status' gets in your way, now-a-days, does it?" She turned slowly to look at him. She searched his face for some resemblance of the boy she'd met at the park when they were young and carefree, but all she could register was the guilt and despair in his piercing black eyes, his ever-present frown, and the hollowness of his eyes and cheeks. His features made him look simultaneously much younger and much older than fifteen, she realised sadly.

He opened and closed his mouth soundlessly, wracking his brain for words that could fix the damage he'd caused in a moment of desperation. "It – but – why do they matter – your different!" he finally managed to choke out. He seemed to realise he'd said the wrong thing immediately, because he scrunched his heavy eyelids closed and backed away, shaking his head.

"Why do they matter? WHY DO THEY MATTER?!" she was shouting now, abandoning her act of forced calm and unmasking her emotion. "You swore you wouldn't use that foul word, you said it didn't matter! You said being muggle-born didn't matter! You – you lied to me, and that's why it matters!" Tears were spilling from her eyes in abundance now, but she didn't appear to notice.

"I'm sorry, Lily, I really am!" fear seemed to consume him now, and if possible, he sounded even more desperate. "Please forgive me, and I'll never say it again, I promise!"

"But you'll still hang around with those vile boys, and you'll keep inventing Dark spells, and carry on believing every muggle-born is less than you, and worst of all, you'll – you'll –" she composed herself and pushed all the sadness and hurt from her voice, so it was entirely loathing, "you'll still become one of _them!_" she spat out the last words as though they tasted putrid in her mouth, pursing her lips, narrowing her eyes and slowly shaking her head in disgust.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he said, but his shaky tone told otherwise. He knew she wasn't stupid, and lying was futile, but playing innocent was the only defence he could think of. He could tell from her incredulous wide-eyed expression that he was failing. He was losing her.

"Oh-ho! Don't you?!" she moved slightly closer to him. He felt one of her tears tickle his hand and his throat tightened. "_Sectumsempra?_" she said, "does that ring any bells?"

His eyes widened, and for a fleeting moment he thought he was actually going to vomit. The only thing stopping him was that Lily was right in front of him. _She can't know what that curse is really supposed to do_, he thought, _all it managed to do was open a gash on Potter's face…_

"I heard you telling Lucius Malfoy about it, I know what the damage that spell could have caused," she said, her voice dangerously low, "and you're damn lucky I haven't told Dumbledore about it. I know what Potter is, Severus, but he's still worth one million dark wizards!"

"You don't honestly – after all he's done to me – to everyone – you can't –"

"You can't manipulate your way out of this one, Severus Snape! I know you want to be one of his scummy little minions!" A deep, shuddering breath shook her whole body. "I know you're going to be one of V-Voldemort's Death Eaters." She breathed, in barely more than a choked whisper. It was a questioning statement, and when he simply bowed his head and sighed, fresh tears spilled from her puffy eyes. "You don't deny it." She drew her eyes away from him, turning to walk away.

"Lily, wait," he grabbed her soft, slender hand, enclosing it in his rough, lanky fingers with more force than he had intended.

She turned abruptly, seemingly having composed herself greatly, startling him into dropping her hand so it fell lightly to her side. "Are you going to change?" She asked wryly, bluntly. When he didn't answer, she breathed a low, steadying sigh. "You've chosen your path, Severus, and I can't follow you on it. I've turned a blind eye to your obsession with Dark arts for too long now, I should've walked away the moment I noticed you hesitate in telling me having muggle-parents wasn't an issue." Noticing the surprise and shock plastered on his face, she paused to consider him. "Yes, I do remember that day." She continued. "I can't be friends with a boy who supports a cause whose motives wish me dead, you're intelligent, surely you understand that?"

Tears swelled in his hollow, tortured charcoal eyes.

"I just hope you manage to see the fault in your choices before you dig your own grave any deeper, because I know you have a weakness that He can use to his advantage, and I have a feeling it's going to be too late before you realise it."

The coal-chip eyes met the emerald ones. She felt she'd gazed into them for too long, but to him, it could never last long enough. Just as she had managed to pull herself together, he shattered into thousands of small, insignificant pieces right in front of her. Unable to bare it anymore, she spoke for the last time. Something about this argument had a sense of finality to her, and she ached as though someone had cut an irreparable wound in her heart. "Don't let yourself get in over your head, Severus." Her long eyelashes fluttered and her gaze shifted to the ground.

And then she said it. Short but sweet, and full of unspoken confessions and abandoned promises. "Goodbye."

She pulled herself up to full height, and although she was the smaller of the two by far she managed to make the tall boy look incredibly minor. Her eyes skimmed over his face, not meeting his gaze, then she turned on her heal and walked off up the empty corridor.

Severus stared longingly as she walked away, eyes fixed on her. He inhaled shakily and deeply, savouring the last of her honey-sweet apple scent that lingered as she drifted away from him. He watched in agony, but even now, adoration, as she ran a shaky hand through her blazing red hair. He saw it ripple beautifully down her back, before she turned the corner with the grace of a butterfly and disappeared out of his sight without as little as a glance backward.

"Goodbye, Lily."

* * *

A/N - I might keep going with this for the rest of the song? If you haven't heard it I strongly recommend listening to it :) Reviews or criticism would be great, thanks for reading :D


End file.
